Syria will hold a presidential election on June 3, state media reported on Monday, setting the date for a vote likely to give President Bashar Assad a third term.
"The 3rd of June is the date for the election," Syrian state television said, quoting the parliament speaker.
Assad is battling a three-year-old rebellion against his rule. International powers who back his opponents have described plans to hold the election as a "parody of democracy".
More than 150,000 people have been killed in the civil war, which began as peaceful protests against Assad's rule, a third of them civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Millions have fled the country.